New nuclear in the US, Belarus, Jordan and India
Progress on new reactors form part of noteworthy nuclear developments this month, starting with the pouring of concrete at the second of the two nuclear reactors at the VC Summer plant in South Carolina, US.
The two planned Westinghouse AP1000 1.1 GW reactors will share the site with an existing reactor operated by South Carolina Electric & Gas. ‘It has been less than eight months since first nuclear concrete for Unit 2 was poured at VC Summer, and since then… progress includes the placement of the containment vessel bottom head and placement of the reactor vessel support module, as well as concrete placement that will enable further progress on the nuclear island. In addition, one of the cooling towers is nearing completion,’ said Westinghouse Electric Company Nuclear Power Plants Senior Vice President Jeff Benjamin. Elsewhere Westinghouse is also building two reactors in Georgia, US, and another four in China.
Meanwhile, World Nuclear News reports that the foundation slab of the first of two Russian reactors at Ostrovets in Belarus has been poured. The units are 1.2 GW AES-2006 types, developed by St Petersburg Atomenergoproekt (now VNIPIET). Each unit is expected to take five years to build. The Russian state-owned Vnesheconombank (VEB) is reported to be lending up to $10bn for 25 years to finance 90% of the contract.
Russian technology has also been selected for Jordan’s first nuclear power plant. The Jordan Atomic Energy Commission has announced that Rosatom’s reactor export subsidiary AtomStroyExport will be the supplier of AES-92 nuclear technology, while Rusatom Overseas will be strategic partner and operator of the plant, reports World Nuclear News. The first reactor is expected to begin operation in 2020.
Finally in terms of new build, the first unit of India’s Kudankulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu state has commenced operation. The reactor is the 21st in India and was again built using Russian technology.
In other nuclear news, the Olkiluoto 2 power plant in Finland has achieved 200 TWh of commercial electricity production in commercial operation, since being commissioned in 1982. 2012 was the reactor’s best performing year, with it producing 7.48 TWh of electricity, reaching a load factor of 96.9%.
And finally, AREVA is now producing MOX fuel for the Borssele power plant in the Netherlands, at its MELOX facility. The use of MOX fuel at the plant follows the decision of the Dutch utility EPZ in 2008 to diversify the fuel supply for the 500 MW plant. The decision will see the Netherlands becoming the seventh country to use or have used MOX fuel in its reactors, joining a list that includes Germany, Switzerland, France and Japan.
News Item details
Journal title: Energy World
Countries: Worldwide -
Subjects: Nuclear engineering, Electricity from nuclear fuel, Nuclear fuels, Electric utilities, Cooling towers, Nuclear reactors
